Industrial Productivity: Wireless Sensor Makes Work Easier

Industrial productivity is directly linked to production efficiency and among its requirements is the availability of the machines and equipment used for this purpose.

TRADITIONAL METHOD OF INDUSTRIAL ASSET MONITORING

Traditional monitoring, for the most part, is inspection through human senses and vibration analysis on those pieces of equipment that already show symptoms of failure.

While the human senses are a good adjunct, they do not have the ability to generate comparative evidence and data, over time, to make a more accurate diagnosis.

Vibration analysis, several times done occasionally by in-house or outsourced teams, with equipment offered by the market, which can be relatively expensive and not always available.

For safety, the NR-12 Brazilian Standard requires that the machine has its operating rhythm reduced or even stopped in order for data collection to take place.

Wired sensor monitoring, on the other hand, offers the advantage of real-time information. Perhaps its advantages end there.

It is a relatively expensive system, even more because it is a solution that makes use of hundreds of meters of cables that need to be installed. When one of these cables breaks, you have to find out where it happened in order to repair it.

OCCUPATIONAL SAFETY AND THE NR-12 STANDARD

Brazilian Regulatory Standard NR-12 and its annexes define technical references, fundamental principles, and protection measures to ensure the health and physical integrity of workers and, to this end, establishes minimum requirements for the prevention of occupational accidents and diseases.

NR-12 is an indispensable norm regarding the set of procedures related to machinery or industrial plants, concerning their installation, safe access, and risk management when starting, operating, maintaining, and shutting down this industrial machinery.

It is also a reference for risks related to the transportation of materials on continuous conveyors, ergonomics, etc.

OTHER INDUSTRIAL RISKS ADDRESSED BY NR-12

• Leaking or spilled oil, slippery element;
• Leakage of toxic gases, which can be inhaled;
• Inopportune vibrations in the work environment;
• Excessive noise, and auditory disturbance;
• Heat Generation;
• Dust, soot;
• Hazardously reacting substances such as combustible, flammable, explosive;
• Heated surfaces, with burn hazard.

The challenge of performing corrective or even proactive maintenance, minimizing the risk exposure of people and equipment, requires planning, clear procedures that follow NR-12, lots of training, and continuous follow-up.

SCHEDULED PREVENTIVE MAINTENANCE IN THE INDUSTRY

From the industry’s engineering experience, scheduled preventive maintenance in the industry, even following good practices and guidance from the machinery manufacturer, often results in premature or delayed parts replacement, which is even worse.

Anticipation, however, leads to unnecessary consumption of spare parts and cost of maintenance staff hours, hours that could be available for higher value-added activities.

MAKE A VIDEO, DO NOT JUST TAKE A PICTURE!

A continuous monitoring solution, which reads points or a set of points of a machine, with devices provided with sensors, is part of Industry 4.0 technology and is in growing use also in Brazil.

Continuous monitoring generates a video and no longer a photograph of the momentary condition of the industrial equipment.

A wireless data logger, capable of monitoring vibration parameters in three axes (radial, axial, and horizontal), of temperature, and even of spectral analysis, can thus be seen as a valuable tool in NR-12 compliance.

This is because the machinery, besides being monitored during pre-defined intervals and parameters, can continue to perform its usual production functions.

And more, the data collection of the continuously monitored parameters is managed by a bluetooth device, which can be done from several meters away.

And the film continues in the industry! The continuous data logging and collection generates “medical records” of the condition of the monitored equipment. The system can be accessed remotely via web, in the form of intelligence reports, or even by a prior industrial diagnosis.

Meet the solution which brings these benefits to maintenance work with greater productivity and safety for employees in your industry.